However, that elation quickly turned to angst on Wednesday when it was revealed TASC had reissued the ATAR scores after it had identified a “processing error.”

Some students found their ATAR changed up and some found it changed down once the correction had been applied, which has caused emotional upheaval ahead of Christmas.

WHAT IS AN ATAR?

An Australian Tertiary Admission Rank represents a student’s rank among the cohort of year 12s in Tasmania.

The ATAR is a number between 0 and 99.95 that is used to compare students who have completed different Tasmanian Certificate of Education subjects.

To be eligible for an ATAR, students must achieve Tasmanian Certificate of Education, achieve at least a Satisfactory Achievement (SAT) result or equivalent in at least three level 3 or level 4 TASC accredited senior secondary courses with external assessement and; have at least three scaled scores in different courses studied in their final year of study.

Each university and university course requires a different ATAR benchmark for students wishing to enrol in that course.

HOW ARE ATARs CALCULATED?

Because the ATAR is a rank, it is calculated over a student’s best five scores in level 3 or 4 courses.

Students are able to complete more courses but the ATAR is based on the best five scores.

The three highest scores from a student’s final year of study are added together with the next best one or two scores from the same year or from one other year.

TASC executive officer Katrina Beams said the calculation of ATAR was a process that was used nationally for tertiary admission to universities.

“It’s a tried and true process and it’s the fairest process we have to rank students’ scores.”

Ms Beams said TASC prided itself on its accuracy and in 2015 hosted an expert from Western Australia, David Andrich, who visited and observed how the process was applied in Tasmania to formulate the ATAR.

She said the Education Department secretary manages the data on TASC’s behalf and oversees a small group of “bright and clever” data analysts who input the individual exam scores for each individual student.

The data is then sent to TASC from the Education Department who collect and then calculate the ATAR, which is then sent to UTAS as Tasmania’s tertiary admissions centre.

UTAS tertiary admissions staff then use the rankings to send to other universities or to themselves depending on which course the student has applied to.

Each university course has a benchmark minimum ATAR that each student needs to achieve to receive admission into the course.

‘HUMAN ERROR’

A large majority of Tasmanian students received their TCE and ATAR scores emailed to them on Tuesday morning, with many of them pre-registering their details with TASC.

However, on Wednesday, many students woke to the a new email in their inbox, after TASC and the Education Department worked through Tuesday evening to recalculate the ATAR with the correct information.

Ms Beams said TASC had been notified of the error on Tuesday, by UTAS tertiary admissions staff, who had noticed the potential for incorrect scores.

She said it could be noted down to “human error” and that once it had been identified her staff worked diligently and quickly to rectify the problem.

Thankfully, the error was caught before UTAS had begun its tertiary admissions work and as such it will not affect any student applying to university here or on the mainland.

However, Ms Beams said she acknowledged the angst and stress it would have caused for many students, and apologised for the error occurring.

IN THE PAST

In November, Ms O’Byrne called into question the recruitment process for exam markers, ahead of this year’s TCE exam period.

She said TASC had not secured enough teachers to volunteer for the marker roles and was concerned over the number of papers they would need to mark to make the deadline for TCE.

TASC also came under scrutiny in 2017 over the marking load of its exam markers, with Opposition Education spokeswoman Michelle O’Byrne calling into the question the load markers had.

There were also questions over the accuracy of exam papers and criticism over the timetable, with some exams of similar subjects running close together.

An independent review of TASC’s external assessment processes was conducted by Victorian consultant John Firth, who examined the organisation’s terms of reference, with particular emphasis on recruitment processes for sessional staff, operational logistics and timely communications.

A second review was conducted concurrently by WLF Advisory and Consultancy, who were engaged to specifically work to determinate what constitutes a marking load and payment rates for sessional staff.

The results of the two reviews were made public in 2018 and showed the consultants made 24 recommendations on ways TASC could improve its external assessment procedures.

The recommendations included:

Ms Beams said she had accepted all recommendations on behalf of TASC and all of them had been implemented in 2018.

SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS

Ms Beams said she was cognizant of the emotional turmoil and impact the error would have on students and apologised that it happened.

However, she said it was important students were aware that the clarification and correction of the ATAR would not have an impact on tertiary admission for any students.

It will also not impact on any scholarship applications.

“Because we worked quickly and worked closely with UTAS, they were able to halt their admission work so it won’t impact on any university placement,” Ms Beams said.

Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff reiterated the message that students would not be impacted by the error and said support was available for those who need it.

“In addition to the quick response by TASC, the University of Tasmania and the Department of Education to fix the issue within the same day, we have also put in place additional support measures for affected students and their families,” he said.

Mr Rockliff has ordered an independent audit of TASC processes to determine how the error occurred and what can be done to prevent it happening again.

The review is expected to be conducted next year.

However, in the interim, an information line has been set up for students and their families who have been affected by a change in their ATAR.

Students from the non-government sector may wish to contact their school in the first instance, but in the event they are not able to access all the information required, they can also contact the information line.

Additionally, professional support for students is available, for example, to talk to a social worker and can be facilitated through the information line.

Students may also wish to access support from other organisations such as headspace on 1800 810 794.

Students can call the information line on 6777 2403. This support line will be in place until 5pm on December 21 and recommence on January 2, 2019.

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